Media term list Flashcards
ABC figures
The Audit Bureau of Circulations is responsible for measuring the reach of different media across a range of platforms.
Active audience
The idea that media audiences do not just consume a text passively, they actively engage with it because of personal and social contexts.
Advertising campaign
A campaign run by an advertising agency which incorporates all of the ways in which a product, event or service is beneficial to the audience. This can be in the form of packaging, television, print and online adverts.
Advertorial
An advert that is presented in the form of editorial content. For example an advertorial video or post is an advert presented by the poster in their usual style.
Agenda setting
The way the values of a media (usually news) institution by prioritising and giving prominence to selected stories. Those deemed most important will take prominence in coverage and this will reflect the news provider’s values.
Anchorage
The way media language choices combine to attempt to reinforce the producer’s intended meaning.
Antagonist
In a plot, the character whose function is to disrupt the protagonist – often, but not always, a villain.
Archetype
A universal type of character found in various media texts, eg anti-hero, hero.
Audience
The people who read, see and/or listen to a media product.
Audience positioning
The way a media product addresses the audience to influence the way the audience will interpret the media product.
Avatar
In gaming this is the player’s representation of themselves within the game.
BARB
Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board – the organisation that measures and collects television viewing data in the UK.
Bardic function
This refers to the nature of the media as a story-teller/information provider within the culture.
BBFC
British Board of Film Classification – responsible for deciding the age classification and censorship of all films and video content released in the UK.
Big Close Up (BCU)
An extreme close up camera shot, usually focusing on the face or close detail of the body.
Binary opposite
When representations are structured as pairs that reflect oppositional values. For example, good and evil; police and criminals. / The conflict created between two opposing ideas. This conflict creates the problems that drive narratives forward.
Binge watching
When multiple episodes of a TV programme are watched in succession.
Blog
A website or web page often created by an individual or small group which is regularly updated, often written in an informal, conversational style.
Blogger
A person who engages in blogging by updating and adding content to a blog. Blog is a short term for weblog.
Brand
A type of product that is manufactured and marketed under a particular name, logo and design.
Brand ambassador
An individual, often a celebrity, who is paid to promote and endorse a product or service. They will become the face of the brand and their qualities are associated with the product.
Brand identity
The image that a brand projects and the associations the audience then make with the brand.
Bricolage
When signs or artefacts are borrowed from different styles or genres to create something new.
Broadsheet
Newspapers that prioritise hard news, for example, The Guardian.
By-line
The printed line of text in a newspaper/magazine that names the writer of an article.
Call to action
An instruction aimed at the audience with the hope to provoke an immediate response – can take the form of ‘subscribe now’, for example. Often used in advertising and marketing.
Camera movement
The way the camera is moved during filming to add depth, interest and variation for the viewer, such as pan and track.
CAP code
UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct Promotional Advertising. The advertising code that covers non-broadcast media. It is written by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and administered by the ASA.
Censorship
The controls and regulations that exist about media content. Censorship powers can be held by governments or regulatory bodies.
CGI
Computer-generated imagery is the application of computer graphics to printed or moving image media. The term CGI commonly refers to 3D computer graphics used for special effects in film sequences.
Circulation
This relates to the amount of readers/viewers that access a media product. This can be measured in sales (magazines and newspapers), unique visitors (websites), listening/viewing figures (TV and Radio via BARB, YouTube viewing figures) etc.
Classification
A rating given to a film, DVD or video game which informs the audience the suitability for different ages of audience according to the criteria of violence, sexual content and inappropriate language.
Cliff hanger
A narrative device where suspension is created at the end of an episode or before an advert break in order to persuade the viewer to continue watching subsequent instalments of the programme to find out what happens next.
Closed narrative
A story where the main threads of the narrative are neatly resolved.
Close up (CU)
A common camera shot that tightly focuses on a person or object.
Code
Codes are the systems of signs that are used to create meaning in media texts. Codes can be both symbolic and technical. For example, Action code - media language choices that act to move a narrative forward, Enigma code – a question that is not immediately answered which draws the audience into a text.
Cognitive surplus
The cultural context of increased leisure time allowing for more sharing, collaboration and creativity using online platforms.
Collective identity
The shared sense of belonging to a group.
Colloquialism
An informal expression, often used in casual conversation as opposed to writing. May be used to establish an informal communication with an audience.
Colour palette
The suite of colours that are used in the creation of media texts, such as websites and magazines, to reflect a brand and appeal to its audience.
Commercial media
Privately owned media hat is funded by advertising revenue.
Commissioning
When programmes get the ‘go ahead’ or ‘green light’ for production. Producers will pitch their ideas to commissioning controllers who will decide whether or not to commission the programme.
Commodification
The process by which something becomes an object that can be marketed and sold.
Concentration of ownership
Refers to the limited number of organisations or individuals who control ownership of much of the media.
Conglomerate
A media conglomerate is a large corporation that owns a large number of media companies, such as television, radio, internet, publishing – giving the conglomerate large amounts of power in their market.
Connotation
The additional associative meaning that can be bought to a sign outside its literal, surface meaning.
Consumable product
These are products that we use regularly and that need to be replaced. Some audiences are loyal to a particular brand, whereas, others may be persuaded to change.
Consumption
A term used to refer to the act of reading, viewing, listening to or interacting with media products.
Content analysis
A method of research that provides quantitative data. It generally involves counting the number of times a particular feature appears in a given context – for example, counting the number of men who have speaking roles in a TV programme.
Content creators
Those involved in creating and sharing content online, for example, YouTubers and social media influencers.
Context
The social, cultural, historical and political values of a culture that impact on the production and reception of media products. The values within a context are subject to change over time.
Continuity
The logical and consistent presentation of images in the movement across frames within moving image products.
Continuity editing
Editing choices made to create logical and linear coherence.
Contrapuntal
Sound that does not match the action on screen.
Conventions
The widely recognised and typical way of producing media products within a particular genre or media form.
Convergence
The coming together of technologies and institutions to create a new product or media experience. This is often facilitated by digital technologies that bring together the facility to perform different functions such as internet browsing, playing music, taking photographs, watching videos etc.
Copy
The written material, as opposed to images, that features in a media text.
Countertype
A representation that actively seeks to subvert and challenge negative stereotypes usually of a person, group or place.
Cover lines
The written text that features on the cover of a magazine, they usually give a preview of the content inside.
Cross platform marketing
When one form is advertised on another media platform.
Crane shot
A camera shot that is taken from above the ground high on a crane (also known as a jib).
Cross-head
Words used as a title or sub-heading to break up text in a newspaper or magazine.
Cross cut
An editing technique used to establish that action is occurring at the same time.
Cultivation differential
The margin of ‘heavy’ viewers over ‘light’ viewers when assessing the perception of social reality that the media creates.
Cultural capital
An idea of a power gained in society by having cultural knowledge and experiences that are valued within a culture.
Cut
A simple editing technique. One shot ends and another begins, with no transitions or effects added.
Date line
A line that shows the date that a media publication/article was written/first published.
Decoding
The process through which an audience interprets a message.
Deconstruction
The act of analysing the structures used to construct a media product.
Deep focus
A technique used in photography or cinematography which produces a ‘depth of field’ where everything is in focus.
Demerger
Separating a large corporation into two or more smaller organisations.
Demographics
Statistical data based on groupings in the culture based on age, gender, ethnicity, income etc.
Denotation
The literal or surface meaning of signs.
Deregulation
The relaxing of controls and limitations imposed upon the media by the state.
Desensitisation
A psychological process which suggests that audiences who are regularly exposed to acts of violence through tv programmes, films and video games etc, are increasingly less likely to feel empathy or concern when exposed to violence, bad language or other forms of aggressive behaviour.
Dialogue
Words spoken by characters in a media product, such as films or television dramas.
Diegesis
The communication of a story from inside the world being represented. For example: diegetic sound has a source from inside the world being represented.
Diegetic sound
Sound that appears to come from the world of the film or TV programme, whether on or off screen.
Digital native
A person who is brought up with digital technology from an early age so using it comes naturally to them.
Diversification
Large corporations spreading their interest and shares in a wide variety of mass media forms.
Duopoly
An industry within which two companies control the market.
Editing
A post-production technique – any arranging, revising and preparing of written, audio or video content to get the piece ready for audience consumption.
Editorial
An article in a newspaper or magazine that expresses an opinion on a topical issue.
Editorial philosophy
A media product’s underlying values, attitudes and beliefs and the viewpoint it adopts. The editorial philosophy helps to determine the style and content of the media product including the mode of address it adopts.
Effects theories/The Effect Debate
The effects debate is collection of theoretical ideas that examine the potential impact the media may have on audience members. Effects theories tend to see audiences as largely passive and vulnerable to negative effects of the media.
Ellipsis
Where sentences are incomplete and are finished with a set of three dots; the words then need to be filled in by the consumer.
Emerging media
The communication that occurs through digital technology and new platforms with interactive elements, for example podcasts, social media etc.
Encode
The act of communicating ideas and messages through a system of signs. Media producers make specific media language choices to encode their messages.
Enculturation
(from Gerbner)
How the media is part of the way we learn social and cultural norms.
Enigma
A question that is not immediately answered which draws the audience into a text.
Equilibrium/disequilibrium
In Todorov’s theory, equilibrium is the status quo or normal state of affairs in a narrative which gives way to unpredictability (disequilibrium) when equilibrium is disrupted. The narrative journey is usually about the restoration of balance by solving the problems created by the disruption (return to a new equilibrium).
Essentialisation
A process that involves ascribing certain traits or characteristics to someone by nature, those traits are seen to be part of that person’s nature and as such they are fixed and cannot be changed.
Establishing shot
The opening shot of a visual narrative sequence often showing the geographical location.
Ethics
The principles and standards that are upheld in broadcast media, film and the internet.
Ethnicity
Ethnicity is defined by your cultural identity, often demonstrated through customs, food and dress. It suggests identity is based on a sense of place, ideology or religion.
Ethnocentric
Roger Brown defines ethnocentrism as ‘the application of the norms of one’s own culture to that of others’ (Social Psychology, 1965). Stuart Hall refers to this definition in his theory of representation as he suggests ethnocentrism is an example of the way in which stereotypes reinforce the power of certain groups over others.
Exhibition
Where a film can be viewed, eg multiplex, independent art house cinemas, online, and film festivals.
Exotic other
A term used to describe someone who is perceived to be different or ‘foreign’ – a state of alterity.
Fabula
A term in narrative theory – Russian for ‘story’.
Facial action coding system
A technique whereby computer technology is used to capture a range of high resolution skin textures and different facial expressions used to help animators replicate computer generated images. This was used in the Galaxy chocolate advert to make Audrey Hepburn look real.
Fade
A transition that moves to or from an image to a single colour (usually black or white) where the second shot appears gradually so both images are on screen for a period of time.
Female gaze
A term used in reaction to Mulvey’s Male Gaze that considers representations that subvert the male gaze and present ideas from a distinctly female point of view. Often misconstrued to refer to products targeting a female audience.
Feminism
A collection of ideas and actions that aim to promote women’s rights and the social, economic and political equality of the sexes.
Flashback
A scene in a moving image text that is set in an earlier time than the main story.
Flexi narrative
A narrative structure that combines aspects of the same serial or series. For example, whilst each episode may feature a self-contained narrative, character relationships may develop over the course of several episodes forming a wider story arc.
Flow
A term first coined by Raymond Williams, after his first experience of US television in the mid-1950s, to suggest that broadcast media are experienced as a flow of similar segments not as separate items.
Fly-on-the-wall
A form of documentary filmmaking where the camera is an invisible presence, positioning the viewer voyeuristically as an unseen observer.
Focus group
Qualitative research where a group of people are asked about their views of a product which enables the producers to form an opinion of the needs of the target audience.
Font
The style and size of text characters on the printed page or screen.
Form
The classification of media products by type as it related to their production and the way audiences access them. For example, TV, magazines, and games are all forms of media.
Framing (reception theory)
The organisation of media language that acts to present a message in a very specific way that reflects the agenda of the producing institution.
Franchise
A media franchise is a collection of connected media products derived from a single original source, for example, a film – with a comic and video game also produced about the film or a film that generates sequels, is rebooted etc.
Free market
A capitalist system where the prices for goods and services are determined by the open market and consumers and where state/legal regulation is kept to a minimum.
Gatekeeping
The way in which information is filtered by the media before it is prepared for publication, broadcast or distribution.
Gender norms
Cultural expectations of how different genders should behave – what is considered ‘normal’ for men or women.
Gender performativity
From Butler.
The idea that gendered behaviours come from lived experiences within a culture. Gender is something people ‘do’ rather than something they ‘are’.
Genre
A style or category within media forms. For example, broadsheet is a genre category within the newspaper form.
Globalisation
The global spread of media and communications systems and businesses. How local and national industries are linked to a wider world culture.
Global village
A term coined by Marshall McLuhan where he described how modern electronic media have interconnected around the globe and have ‘shrunk’ the world making it seem like a village.
Guerilla marketing
Low-cost and unconventional marketing methods with a clear focus on grabbing the audience’s attention
